Although it may be argued that the country is not experiencing
deforestation at a national level, there are localised critical deforestation
problems particularly in the densely populated southern and eastern parts of the
country. This is evidenced by the critical shortages of fuelwood in those areas
where they have to purchase fuelwood and the prices are rising sharply. This has
provided a good market for alternative sources of fuel such as paraffin. But
these substitutes turn out to be expensive for the poor households who continue
to collect live wood by cutting and burning. Thus these deforestation problems
may not be deliberate but actions of people in a desperate situation of poverty.
It is as such very important that when institutional mechanisms for forest
resource conservation and management involve community participation as much as
possible. Policies should be formulated with the people and not for the people.
Of course in Botswana, consultations occur with local communities and
institutions such as Village Development Committtees (VDCs). But as Magole
(1997) puts it, the involvement of local communities and institutions is just to
use them as vehicles of implementation of policies drawn from above and do not
necessarily have power to influence decision making of forest resource
conservation and management.